Late Thursday, we learned through multiple reports that the Catholic Seven could begin their new basketball league next fall, although negotiations Friday did not yield anything official. We also learned that those negotiations involve the Big East name, which presumably will be sold to the Catholic Seven for financial compensation.

So, the obvious game for writers and snarky sports fans: What to name the new conference?

My original idea was the "Bigg East," a surely illegal scheme in which commissioner Mike Aresco sells the rights to the name, and then essentially keeps the slightly-altered title for his own league.

My original idea stunk.

But a text from an old college roommate did not: The Layover Conference.

Yes, it seems as though big-time programs view the league -- whatever it ends up being called -- as temporary. No one wants to be stuck in an airport terminal, especially this one, for too long.

By now, most have arranged departures to their desired destinations. Syracuse and Pittsburgh take off for the ACC soon enough. Louisville and Notre Dame have their boarding passes, and they're probably working the ticketing agent (ACC commissioner John Swofford) for spots on the earlier flight. And the seven Catholic schools, magically enough, booked a trip to a land that they founded.

UConn -- its navy blue suit and freshly polished shoes -- hangs out in Terminal C with no scheduled flight, no exit from the most painful layover in college athletics. UConn doesn't fit in with the ragtag crew filtering into the terminal, Tulane in sweatpants and Southern Methodist's rocking red eyes and a five o'clock shadow.

Nonetheless, the Huskies are here. And they've got plenty of time to sit back and read the unfortunate story that develops as the Catholic Seven pushes for a 2013 exit.

It goes something like this: In the minutes following Georgetown's insane 79-78 double-overtime victory over UConn on Wednesday, John Thompson III reminded us of the "terrific basketball game" that had just taken place. He spoke of the futures of the two programs -- confident about where Georgetown was headed and, "with the man they have in place," he felt that UConn should be confident, too.

Nearly 24 hours later, ESPN reported that the Catholic Seven breakoff would begin next fall, which would turn that epic matchup -- a classic that goes down with the historic battles of the mid-90s -- into the series finale between UConn and Georgetown as conference rivals.

There's no shot at a rematch at the Big East tournament, and it's a shame on a few levels: Even without Syracuse and Pittsburgh (the two schools departing on that 2013 ACC flight), the 2014 Big East tournament was supposed to have some familiar faces. If the reports come to fruition, next week's tournament really is the last hurrah.

And the worst part: UConn would have a shot in this thing. These Huskies -- even with the 6-foot-7 Niels Giffey at center, even with a hobbled Shabazz Napier at point -- can hang with anyone. That's not up for debate anymore. Not after UConn knocked off Michigan State, took down Syracuse and pushed Georgetown -- the class of the conference -- to the brink. Four wins in four days at the 2013 Big East tournament seems is far-fetched, but you can't rule anything out with this group.

UConn and Georgetown are tied atop the Big East with seven conference tournament championships. Maybe they could have met in the title game one last time, before the name gets sold and Conference Layover goes into effect. This year's league playoff -- more meaningful and less predictable than ever -- will always be a giant "what if?" for UConn. And that stings.

It won't affect recruiting: Commits in 2013 or 2014 wouldn't have expected the league to remain intact for the duration of their careers, anyway.

The Huskies do, however, stand to earn some cash for their extended stay. Money from the potential sale of the Big East name and the Catholic Seven exit fee (which does not seem to be finalized as of Friday) should find its way into UConn's pockets. So will the league's NCAA tournament "units": Each conference receives nearly $250,000 (one unit) for every NCAA tournament game it plays, and that money is usually pooled up and divided among the league's members.

Normally, teams leaving the conference don't get their share, but since the seven schools are collectively withdrawing, they may be entitled to NCAA revenue. This, too, could be part of the ongoing negotiation.

In that sense, UConn -- which will make about $15 million less from Conference Layover's TV deal than it would in the ACC -- gets semi-rewarded for its extended stay. It's kind of like a meal voucher at the airport.

But a free burger or two won't change UConn's attitude: It's time to go, yet not time to settle. It's no time to keep re-reading the sob story, either. After it sees Pitt, Syracuse and the Catholic Seven to the gate, UConn needs to be in the ears of ticketing agents at the big airlines. People at this crazy airport are always looking to switch flights. Eventually, a seat will open up. It has to.

UConn just needs to keep its shoes polished, keep its image sharp and, for once in this saga, it needs to get lucky.